Our Trustees and Executive Team
Our trustees help us achieve our mission and ensure our charity is effectively managed. 78% of our trustees have lived experience of disability. They work with our executive team providing strategic vision, independent judgement, creative thinking, and voicing their opinion.
Our Trustees
Andrew Barge – Chair of Trustees
Andrew is a former Chairman of Vranch House, Exeter (a school and clinical centre for children with physical disabilities). He was a Marketing Manager at Vranch House from 2013-2020.
Andrew has now re-joined the NHS, working locally as an Information Governance Consultant. Andrew has a degree in Financial Services from Bournemouth University. His working life to date has included working for Natwest, Barclays Investment, and GE Capital Finance. From 2001-2013 he worked for the NHS where he undertook different roles including managing projects, clinical audits, and being the organisation lead for information governance and equality and diversity. In his spare time, Andrew is a football reporter for BBC Radio Devon and other local BBC stations.
Susan Fallon – Trustee
Susan has worked at the University of Exeter since 2016 and previously worked in International Development and Housing. Susan has worked for numerous charities including Bloodwise, VSO, and Christian Aid. She was previously Treasurer on the Board of Housing Justice.
Richard Manley – Trustee
Richard Manley – Trustee
Following a successful military career, Richard became an arborist until a spinal injury forced a change in circumstances. Richard moved into tech development and worked in digital accessibility for some years before transitioning his skills in machine readable content across to software, although family members kept accessibility front of mind, both digital and physical.
Richard currently inspires e-commerce teams while delivering deep knowledge and intuitively sensing weakness in marketing campaigns and digital ideas. Richard has helped the world’s largest e-commerce companies to enhance their customer experiences and he is a real expert in the field of Al-driven e-commerce.
Richard joined the Living Options Devon Board of Trustees in 2019.
When he is not at work, you’ll find Manley out on our coasts, in his role as an HMCG Rescue Officer.
Tina Naldrett – Trustee
Tina Naldrett – Trustee
Tina lives and works in Devon, a Registered Nurse, in mental health and general care, she is currently clinical director at the local charity Hospiscare. Prior to this post Tina worked in the NHS for most of her career. She also worked as a senior fellow for the Royal College of Nursing and as a senior lecturer at Plymouth University.
She enjoys supporting organisations and teams to maximise their potential. It’s a great believer in the kindness economy and how it can help communities and organisations thrive together. A people person Tina is also an independent celebrant and a lover of words and reading. The child of a parent with hearing impairment, with a long term condition herself she believes in inclusion and hearing everyone’s voices, especially the quiet ones.
Catherine Holmes – Trustee
Catherine Holmes – Trustee
Catherine has worked extensively in healthcare for over 30 years, beginning her career as a nurse and moving into the field of healthcare improvement at local, national, and international level. She has led and supported many large-scale change initiatives that have created improvements for many thousands of people.
Her special interests are large-scale whole system service redesign, mobilising and organising for improvement, utilising motivational approaches to change, developing leaders and working with teams to know hope through know-how.
Charlie Radclyffe – Trustee
Charlie Radclyffe – Trustee
Charlie is passionate about social justice and equality. He looks forward to working with the executive team and fellow trustees to develop Living Options’ strategic thinking, user engagement and public profile.
He has lived with a disability for twenty years after breaking his back in the military. His spinal cord injury left him dependent upon crutches to walk and sometimes using a wheelchair.
He is active in the veteran-disability community, most notably assisting a range of veterans with military ill-health pension and benefit matters, including tribunal advocacy
Sam Hyde – Trustee
Sam Hyde – Trustee
Our Founder – Peter Swain OBE 1945 – 2021
Peter was injured in a gymnastics accident in 1965. He had a BA(hons) and Law Society Part I qualification.
After establishing the Exeter City Council for Independent Living in 1982 and being appointed to the Exeter Health Authority, Peter founded Living Options Devon in 1990 and became our first director. Peter chaired the first National User and Carer Group between 1993-1997 which reported directly to the Department of Health. He was an Associate Hospital Manager with the Devon Partnership Trust and received an OBE in 1996 for services to the development of health, social care, and voluntary sector.
Peter passed away in the summer of 2021, we miss him greatly but continue to fulfill his legacy. Find out more at the About Us section of our website.
“Barriers to independent living still exist, peoples horizons are limited still, and expectations are still relatively low and levels of understanding amongst the wider community are limited as to what disabled people have the capability of achieving. If we could improve that further, I think it would be a major achievement and we’d be making a major breakthrough”
Peter Swain OBE 1945 – 2021
Our Executive Team
Stephanie Lewis – Chief Executive Officer
Stephanie joined Living Options in April 2022 as an experienced senior leader with a strong background in local government policy, governance and democratic processes. She brings an extensive understanding of local government processes and decision-making procedures, has led on Council service reviews and worked in collaboration with partners to promote the integration of health and social care and execute the delivery of improved health and wellbeing outcomes for the people of Devon.
She is passionate about community engagement, understanding user-experience, delivering evidence-based services that benefit the community, and is excited to be working in an organisation that champions the voice of disabled and Deaf people.
Heather Brown – Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Heather joined Living Options in 2014 to manage the Devon Advocacy Consortium. Having graduated from University of Plymouth with a MSc in Psychology, Heather then went on to work in mental health for the next 5 years. Here, she managed a national advocacy service and worked closely with private hospital groups and local authority commissioners.
She is a qualified Independent Advocate with previous experience in mental health secure and forensic settings.
Heather oversees many of the operational teams within LOD and is the Safeguarding Lead for the organisation.
Megan Kenneally-Stone – Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Megan joined Living Options in 2023. Megan has over twenty-five years’ experience working within schools, local authorities and the charitable sector in Gloucestershire and Devon. Megan is a qualified teacher and has developed her career supporting vulnerable families. She brings with her experience in multiagency and partnership working.
Before moving to Devon 10 years ago Megan was a strategic leader within the Sure Start Children’s Centre service leading three Children’s centres. Linking health, social care and education services together to support families.
Since moving to Devon, Megan has enjoyed developing new professional networks across the voluntary and charitable sector; volunteering as a Town Councillor and through professional links developed in her work for a West Devon Community Interest Company and in roles within Devon County Council social care teams.
Since 2018 she has worked for Devon Information Advice and Support Service (DiAS) developing the Ambassador Volunteer programme; a network of Parent Carer Volunteers who connect and provide support and signposting to other Parent Carers of Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). She has developed and delivered training sessions for parent carers of children with SEND using a virtual platform.
Megan hopes to bring a different perspective and expertise that spans from strategic planning, project management, volunteer development to training delivery. She ensures all her work is underpinned by the principles of ensuring voices are heard and services are developed accordingly.
Diane King – Finance Manager and Secretary
Diane trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant after receiving a BSc Hons in Biological Science at Sussex University. Diane is a member of the Senior Management Team at Living Options Devon and holds the role of Finance Manager, she has 20 years’ experience in a range of commercial businesses.
She has applied her knowledge from commerce and acquired wide experience of funding applications during her time at Living Options Devon, which keeps her inspired to make a difference to the beneficiaries of the charity.